10
THE MORXIXG OREGOMAN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE '8 1910.
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PORTLAND, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1810.
TAIT AND THE RAILROAD TANGLE.
The Government badly needs con
sistent system of railroad regulation.
But such is the disarray in Congress,
on account of break-up of the major
ity party, that such system may be
impossible of attainment. This would
be a natural result of disruption prac
tices of selfish minority groups in the
Republican party.
President Taft's new proposal, for
bringing order out of chaos, is a good
stroke and ought to revive the flag
ging fortunes of his Administration.
But insurgents have pounced upon it
as upon his other proposals and its
success may be impossible. He urges
Congress to enact, for immediate en
forcement, the railroad-bill provision
empowering the Commission to sus
pend new rates pending investigation.
Heads of Missouri railroads, which an
nounced rate advances beginning this
month, have consented to withhold the
new charges until the President's plan
can be enacted.
This would hasten adjustment of the
dispute. It would serve the interests
both of the railroads and of shippers.
It would present the question of higher
rates to the Commission for immediate
determination, whereas otherwise
there would be delay of months and
perhaps indefinitely, because there is
no certainty of legislation amid the
disruption hitherto prevailing in Con.
gress. This new plan would correct
the jumbled condition of affairs grow
ing out of the Government's injunc
tion suit against the higher-rate con
cert of the lines in Missouri River ter
ritory. The injunction suit could not reach
the heart of the present difficulty. It
could not determine the justice or in
justice of the increased rates. It does
not attack that side of the matter; it
alleges only that the concert of new
rates is illegal. But it is the rates
that concern the public, not the fine
spun quiblo of how the rates came
to be. Besides, the method adopted
by the railroads for fixing the rates
is the only one possible; any other
would demoralize railroad business;
competition in railroad rates is obso
lete; the only available protection of
the public is that of regulation through
Government authority. The Govern
ment agency for this work is the Inter
state Commerce Commission. But the
injunction suit would take this work
out of the hands of the Commission
and yet would not afford the courts
opportunity to give justice.
President Taft wishes to escape this
tangle. He knows full well the futil
ity of the Government's' injunction
suit. He was moved to initiate the suit
by demands from shippers that he "do
something" for them. But now he
proposes to do something better.
All of which shows the mess of pres
ent railroad legislation and the need of
remedial laws. President Taft's
bill, which insurgents have been hack
ing to pieces, dealt with the matter in
accordance with Roosevelt ideas. It
permitted rate agreements under ap
proval of the Commission- a natural
and proper arrangement. But insur
gents made war on the provision,
falsely alleging it would validate rail
road combinations now illegal.
President Roosevelt urged legal
sanction of rate agreements, subject
to approval of the Commission.. The
Republican platform of 1908 declared
for it. President Taft embodied it in
his bill. Moreover, the country has
recognized the necessity of such a law.
It is an absolute necessity, now that
the country has departed from rate
rivalries and rate wars. Only by con
cert can rate adjustments be effected.
The Sherman act, however, declares
such agreements unlawful. The in
congruity has been pointed out again
and again, and universally condemned.
Yet insurgents make a play for un
thinking popular favor and expunge a
worthy provision from the railroad
bill.
It is worthy of note that the railroad
chiefs are eager to have the Commis
sion, as early as possible, pass upon
the rate increases. They appear con
fident that they can convince the Com
mission that the new charges are rea
sonable. President Taft has opened a
way for adjustment of a profitless con.
! tention. His injunction suit was one
of the steps toward the adjustment.
It is to be hoped that squabbles m
Congress can be subordinated so as to
effect the solution he now suggests.
NEVER-ENDING WHEAT CROP.
A carload of new wheat was shipped
out of Texas last week and the 1910
crop is already coming on the market
in Oklahoma and other Southern lo-
, calities. The first car of new wheat
is always followed by large numbers
. of other cars from other districts.
' Even here in the Far Northwest, new
wheat will be going through the
. threshing machines within thirty days.
It is the influence of this coming crop
that has knocked about twenty cents
i per bushel off the price within the
past sixty days. Nature is a great
provider, and every month in the year
. she brings on to harvest a crop of
; wheat in some part of the world. Be-
ginning in the southern part of the
; United States in June, and sometimes
j as early as the latter part of May, the
harvesters work north until they reach
; the most remote fields in Canada in
October. '
Meanwhile the Russians are follow
ing a similar course from the south
" to the north and have their, big crop
' ready to put on the world's markets
almost simultaneously with that of the
American continent. About the time
the shipments of these two countries
reach their greatest proportions the
success or failure of the Argentine
crop is pretty well understood, and in
December new Argentine wheat begins
. . . . .
coming on the market. The supply
from the Argentine is reinforced in
January by the Australian crop, so that
by the time the United States, Canada
and Russia begin to slack up a little
in shipments the importing countries
find the deficiency made up by the
exports from the Southern hemisphere.
Years ago. before : either Russia or
the Argentine became such a powerful
factor in the world's supply of wheat,
and when the slow-moving sailing ves
sel was the only means of transporta
tion, it was impossible for the foreign
consumers to make the crop of one
country trail into another with un
broken regularity. As a result there
was less stability in prices than there
is at the present time. Buyers now
have full confidence in securing enough
old-crop wheat from some of the large
exporting countries to carry them over
until new crop is available in some
other country. On every sea. and in
every port are fast steamers in readi
ness to rush the cereal to any part of
the world, where It is needed the most,
and will command the highest price.
High prices increase supplies and
curtail consumption, and these two
forces working together soon equalize
prices. Russia this season has broken
all records by shipping more wheat
than has ever been shipped from any
country in a single season. It was
the high prices which induced the big
shipments, for, in order to get the
money, the Russian people used rye
bread at home and sold their wheat.
In this country, prosperity among the
farmers was so much in evidence that
there is a very large carry-over which
will have to be sold at new-crop prices.
CLAY-PIPE MONOPOLY.
Mayor Simon's veto of the clay'-pipe
monopoly ordinance is well advised
and is approved by consumers of sewer
pipe the city over. His veto mesage
will justify the Council's changing
front and sustaining the Mayor's atti
tude. The nine members who voted
two weeks ago for the ordinance were
not sufficiently informed as to the
merits of cement pipe,' else their atti
tude would have been favorable to the
public interest. Admission of cement
pipe will mean lower prices for clay
pipe and competition between manu
facturers of rival products.
The clay-pipe monopoly, with the
plumbing trust and a. newspaper for
allies, has held prices high, and its
promoters have amassed large for
tunes. It has endeavored to drive a
rival cement company out of the Port
land field so as to maintain its high
prices. It has caused fake tests to be
made of cement and false reports to be
circulated, all detrimental to the pub.
lie, which needs competition and
lower prices in sewer pipe.
The Council now has opportunity to
redeem itself and to show its concern
for the money of property-owners.
The Council ought to sustain the veto
not by mere margin of one or two
votes, but by unanimous voice.
WHY K.II.L THE GOOSE? .
Unless some unforeseen providence
prevents, it seems likely enough that
the Broadway bridge case will come
to trial next week. It may even b
finished before Summer is over and
the Autumn leaves have fallen. .Wise
observers will not be too sanguine
about it, however. There is many a
slip between the beginning of a trial
and the final conclusion of it. -The
ingenuity which has succeeded In de
laying the business thus far is prob
ably fully equal to interposing new ob
stacles, and we are more likely to be
hold justice stumbling along in- her
usual painful manner through a pathi
less wilderness than tripping blithely
to the goal. That lawyer has but little
tenacity who will give up after one
bunch of dilatory pleas has been de
cided against him. Seven times sev
enty times the Court may send him
sprawling with his pleas, but if he is
true to his noble calling he will rise
again as confidently as ever, and who
knows but at the next attempt he may
succeed ?
Indefinite delay is a sort of success
and "often a very valuable sort. When
the final outcome of a suit is sure to
be against a man he virtually wins by
postponing the decision indefinitely.
If it Is a person's object to prevent the
building of the Broadway bridge, for
example, what difference does it make
to him whether he secures his end by
winning a lawsuit or by starting a suit
which holds up the, bridge and keep
ing it in court forever? In either case
the bridge will not be built, and that
Is precisely what he wants.' This trick
of reaching their end by delay when
they cannot do it by the justice of
theia cause has been very efficiently
mastered by many lawyers. '. The de
vices by which it is played are numer
ous and Intricate, but they may all be
reduced under a single simple rule.
When you see that you cannot possibly
win by straightforward methods, con
front, or affront, the court with some
verbal Jugglery. The less meaning it
has the better. The more complicated
it is the longer it will take the judge to
unravel its tangles. Be sure to make It
so senseless and perplexed that the
Judge will be compelled to "take it un
der advisement" in order to satisfy
himself that It is really nothing more
than elaborate and pretentious non
sense. If the puzzle is properly con
structed, the judge will not be likely to
solve it in less than six months or a
year. Sometimes it takes several years.
All depends on the mathematical skill
and the diligence of the Judiciary. The
lawyer of ripe experience and profes
sional Judgment knows about how
long it will require for the average
Judge to unravel a given snarl, and as
the time approaches when he must
expect a decision on his last poser he
has a fresh one rea,dy.
It is like poor Scherezade in the
Arabian Nights. The Sultan was bound
by his oath to cut her head off the
moment she finished her story, but
she circumvented him by making it
endless. As soon as the apparent ter
mination of one adventure was in
sight, she skilfully warded off the
catastrophe by introducing new char
acters and unexpected incidents. The
expert legal light does the same, or
something very much like it. No
sooner is one of his thrice-entangled
knots pretty nearly untied by the
court than he has ready another ten
times as blindly interwoven as the
preceding. It is a poor lawyer indeed
who cannot keep the Judges occupied
In this way as long as it seems advis
able. When one comes to understand
the system, the wonder is not that
lawsuits last as long as they do, but
that they ever end. To permit one to
expire when it might Just as well go
on indefinitely is like killing the goose
that lays the golden egg.
An attorney with a goodly number
of profitable lawsuits running in half
a dozen different courts Is like an
author with a fine array of copyrights
on a series of popular novels. Tears
of rich returns stretch alluringly out
ahead of him. If he is blessed with
daughters he feels no concern for their
marriage portions. To Jane he assigns
Perkins vs. Gander for her dowry.
Henrietta gets Smith vs. Robinson.
These suits, judiciously husbanded, are
like Thucydides' History, treasures
forever. "When the system has been
a little farther developed, we may ex
pect to see them passed on by testa
ment from one generation to another.
The heirs of a great lawyer will ac
quire vested rights in his lawsuits, and
it will become unconstitutional' to
bring them to an end. It would be a
heartless Judge who could think of
confiscating these valuable property
rights by anything like haste in decid
ing dilatory pleas.
Taken in connection with our lovely
Jury system, these pleas constitute a
veritable land flowing with milk and
honey for the profession.' The lawyer
who cannot find something wrong with
the Jury is a pretty poor stick. So far
as one can discern, about the only
purpose the Jury really serves is to
provide pretexts for delay when every
thing else has failed. To the average
man of business it is" inexpressibly en
tertaining to sit in a dirty , room and
settle 4 row between Tom and Jack
over two bits, but when the settlement
stretches over days, weeks and months
and threatens to become a lifelong
occupation, as it usually" does under
the modern Judicial system, the cup
is embittered by a taste of monotony.
Still we have no doubt that every good
citizen would be rejoiced to spend his
life sitting on juries if the lawyers
would only provide for his family.
HARVEST .FOR PETITION TRAFFICKERS
"Friends of the people" are again
abroad, reaping their harvest of ini
tiative and referendum signatures at
so many cents a name. This is a pro
fessional class of patriots, that sells its
mercenary service for hire. It makes
thrifty business of "petitions" each
election. Its members take up any bill
or measure, agreeing to "put it
through," no matter whether they
think the' people need it or not.
Their services are at the disposal of
any faction or interest that has an
initiative ax to grind and money
to pay.
This is an evil that should not be
tolerated. If a measure is needed by
the people for initiative enactment or
if a legislative ac ought to be defeated
by referendum vote, the petition sig
natures ought to be obtained without
this mercenary service. Money pay or
other reward for legislation has al
ways been abhorred by the American
people; and for good reason. This
petition business is tainted. It is
small-dose bribery. It enables real
authors and beneficiaries of proposed
legislation to put puppets to the front.
It conceals motives and deceives voters.
The professional name solicitor is
the bane of a good-intentioned elec
torate. ..A conscientious signature on
a petition should be preceded by care
ful scrutiny of the measure proposed.
Rut few -signers pretend to examine
or study the bill that their names offer
for enactment. - -
"Good times", for the petition traf
fickers are here again. But there cer
tainly are honest tasks enough in this
busy .land needing hands and brains
and legs. . Can it be the patriots can
not ftnd such tasks? - - .
AT THE RIVER ENTRANCE.
Soundings taken by pilots and
steamship men -entering the Columbia
River show a marked improvement in
the depth of water. It is believed that
the official survey; whlch'will soon be
made, will show a depth' of 30 feet at
low water. . This depth, if "secured, will
ie equal to the greatest depth ever
recorded at the river's entrance. The
former occasion on which a thirty-foot
depth was shown, was shortly after
completion of the first jetty extension.
At that time the port had no ocean
going dredge, and the channel was not
kept open. This season, unless the
specifications for repairs are changed
too often, w shall have the dredge
Chinook to supplement the work of
the jetty, and there will never again
be a lesser depth than 30 feet at the
river entrance.
Prior to the time when the Port of
Portland took over the pilotage serv
ice at the mouth of the Columbia
River extreme difficulty was found In
inducing some of the bar pilots to get
as far away from the office stove as to
reach the lightship oft the bar. The
improvement in the service is now sc
pronounced that some of the inde
pendent pilots think nothing of going
as far as San Francisco to meet in
coming ships, while trips to Nanaimo
and Vancouver, B. C, and Seattle are
frequent. All of this is a distinct ad
vantage to the shipowner, who not
only secures the services of a bar pilot,
but the pilots, in their desire to atone
for the shortcomings of the past, act
free of charge as coast pilots. This
improvement in the service is directly
traceable to the efforts of the Port of
Portland. The.original intention of that
organization was to improve the pilot
age service. It has succeeded beyond
question, although the cost has been
greater than it would be if the ship
owners would recognize the improve
ment and .-patronize . the agency that
brought it about.
SENILE RACES.
Careful readers of the address
which Mr. Roosevelt delivered at
Magdalen College, Oxford, on June 7,
will notice that he said nothing about
races or nations "growing bid." He
spoke of national decay and men
tioned some of its causes, but to the
biological heresy that a race can be
come senile and lose its youthful ylgor
by a natural process he gave no
countenance.
The fact is that races are naturally
always young, but it is possible for
them to poison the sources of life and
perish through their own fault. - The
decay of the Roman stock, as we now
know, arose not because it became
senile, but because it was poisoned at
the fountain by all sorts of corruption.
As long as a race takes care to keep
the sources of life healthy, there is no
danger of its' decay, no matter how
many thousands of years it may per
sist. - The Jews furnish an excellent
ex-ample of this truth, though not by
any means the only one. The Japanese
race is just as instructive. But if a
race can grow old like an individual,
surely the Jews ought by this time to
be in a state of extreme decrepitude.
Their origin is lost in the "backward
and abysm of time." Before there was
any history - there were Jews, and
down through all the ages since events
have been recorded there have been
Jews. When Ve first hear of it the
race was vigorous, and today it is just
as vigorous, just as young and buoy
ant, as it was when Jacob fed his
flocks in the land of Canaan. Nature
has taken good care" that, whatever
may happen to an individual, the race
he belongs to shall not suffer by his
faults.
Unless the very source of life is poi
soned each new individual Is born
with a clean bill of health. The wounds
and diseases of its parents are not In
herited. The qualities they have ac
quired for gqod or ill perish with
them, and the young juman: being
takes its physical and mental structure
from the ages gone long before. But
this is only true if the springs of life
have not been poisoned. Alcohol and
one or two other substances really
cause what is called "racial degenera
tion," and by diligently consuming
them it is possible for a human stock
to obliterate itself froi the face of
the earth. -
More than 100. sheepbreeaers were
in attendance at a meeting of the Wil
lamette Valley Woolgrowers Associa
tion af McMinnville last Saturday. As
the large bands of sheep which ranged
in the Willamette Valley many years
ago have been broken up into small
holdings or sent east of the Cascade
Mountains where, range is more plen
tiful, it is somewhat surprising to note
the great interest t"hat Is still shown
in the sheep industry In the Willam
ette Valley. While the day of the big
sheepman, like the big wheat-grower,
is about over in the Valley, there is
an increasing number of small bands
of sheep. Even the men engaged in
small farming or fruit-growing, find
it profitable to have a few sheep on
the place. It is not improbable that
the aggregate wool output of the Val
ley from these small individual bands
of sheep may yet exceed that which
was- secured when the Valley was
given over to large bands.
Astoria fishermen who angle in the
John Day's River have recently caught
a number of red snappers, a very
gamy fish that was 'transplanted
from Southern waters about ten years
ago. While we have never succeeded
in transplanting in the -waters of the
Cofumbia or its tributaries any fish
that approached the excellence of the
Chinook salmon, or our mountain
trout, the black bass,' the croppie and
the red snapper will offer something
in the way of variety. Some regret is
expressed over the black bass, as they
are so voracious that it is feared that
they will destroy large numbers of
trout. The carp is .another trans
planted fish which has multiplied rap
idly, although about all that it is fit
for is fertilizer. The recent transplant
ing of Eastern lobsters at Yaquina
Bay will be watched with interest. We
would be willing to trade all of our
-carp and bass for a supply of Eastern
lobsters.
The old wooden ship Charmer has
Just arrived at New York on her last
voyage under canvas. Like the Shen
andoah and a number of other famous
oM American clippers she will be dis
mantled, and end her days as a barge.
There is something almost pathetic in
the passing of these old ships which
twenty-five years ago kept the Ameri
can flag In evidence In most of the big
ports of the world; but they have out
lived their usefulness and can no
longer compete with modern carriers
on the world's great trade routes. - In
any contest between sentiment and
business, sentiment always comes off
loser.- It has been many years since
there was any profit in sailing old
wooden ships of the Charmer type, in
competition with the modern-built
steel sailers. Even the latter are no
match for the tramp steamer that. can
handle three or four cargoes While the
sailer Is handling one.
Eastern papers are referring to the
100,000,000 population which will be
shown by the thirteenth census. Au
thority for these stupendous figures is
not disclosed. Making due allowance
for the unprecedented Immigration
during the past decade,- a gain in that
time of 24,000,000 seems highly im
probable. Ten years ago our popula
tion, excluding the islands, was 76,
303,000; in 1890 it was 62,622,000; in
1880 it was 50,155,000. If the present
high estimates are verified, the Nation
has doubled Its ' population in thirty
years.
From Nevada comes the story of" a
girl who killed herself because her
grandfather gave her c. scolding. This
was undoubtedly a case where the
tongue had -been spared to the spoil
ing of the child. If the poor girl had
been properly berated by mother,
father, brothers and sisters, as happens
in all normal families, she would not
have taken so sorely to heart a rebuke
from her grandfather.
It is someone's business to manage
things better today at the Rose Show.
Let orders be given to admit the
crowds at the Tenth-street entrance
and have them leave through the"
Eleventh-street doors. Not one visitor
in fifty was able to get a good view
of the splendid displays at the Armory.
- It is startling to observe the number
of Eastern people who did not cross
the continent to see the Rose Festival.
They would not dream of such a thing.
Their business imperatively drove
them hither. The curious' point Is
that the driving was timed precisely
to coincide with the great annual
event.
While it would be a fine thing if
all our down town streets were free
from 'obstructions during Rose Festi
val week, still it must be admitted that
you can't be putting up two or three
million dollars' worth of buildings
without making some litter.
A word to visitors. Early morning
and early evening hours may profit
ably be devoted to walking about town
and viewing Portland's rose gardens.
Stroll in any direction on streets in
residential neighborhoods, ..East Side
or West Side.
The Milwaukie commuters have
won their contention for a 5-cent fare.
They should have - won it. Things
come out right once in a while.
People who have read "Uncle Tom's
Cabin" and other slavery literature
can appreciate the Insurrection of the
Indians against the Yucatecans.
Ann Arbor leads in publicity and
promotion. An envoy is - after Mr.
Roosevelt for president of the univer
sity. There is some clever counterfeit
paper money in circulation, and the
way to escape it is to insist on the
coin.
t
The SChOOl directors J rp human
school is dismissed at noon the rest of
ho. week. . .
SANE VIEW OF" CONSERVATION. - 1
Individual Effort Hitherto Has Ben
- GeTerameafs Poller.
Earlington (Wash.) Westerner.
Hitherto thiB Government has been one
with a policy of encouraging Individual
effort. Always it has recognized the
strategic value, the absolute necessity
of capital and organized effort in the
upbuilding of infant industries, in the
opening Tf new domains. In this frame
of mind it has levied taxes, established
tariffs; certain great railroads it has
subsidized, others it has financed, guar
anteeing their issues of bonds. Always
it has given free land for homesteads,
and mineral claims to such as would
agree to develop the wealth of its out
lying districts. These things a Gov
ernment owes to its subjects on the
plausible theory, of encouraging thrift.
There are those who argue and we
grant them perfectly honest motives'
that our water power should be ceded to
the state, that our mineral wealth should
be absorbed by the Government. If this
course' proves to be expedient, well and
good, even though it represents a com
plete reversal of our National policy. But
what then? Has not the Government
owned these assets in the West since the
year 1804, when it purchased the land
from Napoleon Bonaparte? Has it not
owned Alaska coal since it purchased the
wild lands of . Alaska from Russia? And
has it developed any of these? Has it
ever planned to develop them? Would it
develop them if It held them for yet
another hundred yeans? Is it not rather
the policy of the Government to assign
this work to the individual? Many peo
ple who condemn the policy of the pres
ent Secretary of the Interior- and we do
not agree with it unreservedly favor
ships subsidies? Is such an attitude
logical? These people would not think
of recommending the Government to ac
quire the railroads, the telephone and
telegraph lines, the steel trust, and the
Standard Oil Company. Had they been
thus minded they would have voted for
Eugene Debs for President and their
course would have been logical. In times
past the people of the West have per
formed miracles, and more are to follow.
But we cannot continue to do the mirac
ulous with our hands tied behind us.
Meanwhile Alaska has received a blow
from which - she may not hope soon to
recover; and the whole West holds its
breath in expectancy, knowing n.at the
conditions are critical. This magazine
believes that it will be better for the
Government to meet prevailing conditions
with a policy tnat will give to Alaska'
a further, and at the present time, a
much needed lease of life, and to the
entire West a guarantee of support in its
struggle toward a firmer basis of development.
WHY UMPIRES GET INTO TROUBLE.
Too Hasty In Their Decisions, Sara a
Veteran Arbiter.
Joe Cantillon, the Washington team's
old manager, and now in charge of the
Minneapolis (American Association) team,
was a National league umpire in bygone
days and an arbitrator of the A No. 1
kind. He's the author of the appended
little tale, which bears the label "Why
Umpires Get Into Trouble."
"Baseball umpires like to give decis
ions as quickly as. possible, and the fans
like to have them Just as quick, but the
umpires would save themselves much
trouble if they would take their time and
not announce their decisions right off
the reel. In calling balls and strikes the
umpire usually makes his mistakes by
calling out the instant the ball crosses
the plate. . He gets the course .of the ball,
and often calls out before the ball is
really lodged in the catcher's glove.
Then, again, some will .watch the ball
as It nears the plate and call out, where
as the ball is liable to take a break Just
at the plate and go good or bad, and
that is where the 'ump' puts himself In
bad.
"I have made the same mistake many
times, and have called -balls when I
knew, after calling them, that they
should have been strikes, but could not
change my decision afterwards, for that
would never do. Of course, it is all
evened up in the long, run, but. the fans
do not look at it that way, and umpires
often gets roasts where they might have
saved themselves. Umpires do not try
to get even with players for alleged
abuse or anything of that kind, for they
are too busy following the ball to think
of getting even with any one. It is the
same in giving base decisions. '
"Very often a runner will get to sec
ond and slide away just far enough to be
safe. The umpire gives his decision
quickly, thinking' at first that the man
should havtf been out, when he sees that
the man Is really safe. . Then, too, the
fans get the impression that the man
should have been out, and when the um
pire calls him safe they howl murder.
They are far enough away from the play
to be fooled, and If the players raise a
kick, why they side in with the men and
roast the "umps." If umpires will take
their time in announcing decisions they
will save themselves lots of trouble."
Tell Mayor Simon About It.
PORTLAND, June 6 (To the Ed
itor) If you will kindly print this, per
haps the persons whose duty it is to
attend to such matters, may see these
queries and do something for us.
1. Why has not East Glisan street, from
Twenty-eighth to Thirty-second, been
oiled?
The cars come with great speed down
the hill from Laurelhurst, raising such
a cloud of dust, we can scarcely see
across the street. Streets north and
east have been oiled for some time
why not ours? '
2. Why must this street be dug up
to lay gas mains to Laurelhurst, when
there are so many unimproved streets
where they could be laid? H. N. S.
This communication is respectfully
passed up to the City Engineer's office.
If relief is not afforded within reason
able , time, let the correspondent or
ganize his neighborhood and proceed in
a, body to call on Mayor Simon, who
will, no doubt, call the delinquent offi
cial upon the carpet
In a general way It may be said that
this Is the most effective plan in any
public municipality. It is far better
than writing letters to the leading
newspaper. Mayor Simon's business is
to see that matters affecting the city's
weal are attended to. .
Solving; the Problem of Government.
Washington Post.
The late Cassius Marcellus Clay of
Kentucky, held that the best government
in the world was a complete autocracy
held in check and disciplined by assassi
nation. There has been some murder of
that sort in Egypt, and that is what
prompted our Colonel to tell England how
to proceed in Egypt.
The problem of government will not be
solved till man is thoroughly civilized,
and that is a long time In the future!
And when that problem is finally solved
it may turn up that man can rule him
self without a government.
Spirit of the Asre.
Birmingham Age-Herald.
"Johnny, what are you going to do when
you grow up?"
"I'm goin' ter run away an' be a pi
rate." "Like Captain Kidd?"
"Shucks, naw! I'm going to ter play
wif Pittsburg."
All Eyes on New York.
Providence Bulletin. "
New York is once more attracting the
attention of the country. Millions of
newspaper readers are turning to the
sporting page every day to see if the Gi
ants' long row of victories is broken.
SQUATTERS FIGHT FOR HOMES
A Protest Asralnat Humous; Mountain
Country aa Fereit Reaerve.
KECASICCM, Or.. June 6. (To the
Editor.) As a resident of the western
part of qiatsop County and interested
in every movement that will develop
this part of the atate. I wish to enter a
protest In The Oregonlan against the
setting aside of any part of the" Hum
bug mountain country as a forest re
serve. I am aware that a bill to that end
has been introduced and has passed to
its second reading In the United States
Senate. I am also informed that an aged
individual, residing in Astoria, who has
no interest in the development of this
section and" who is actuated only
through a desire to become prominent
in his old age as a conserver of the
public domain. Is circulating a petition
in and around Astoria, asking that the
Humbug country be set aside as a
forest- reserve. This man, knowing
nothing of the needs of this section, is
liable to do untold injury through the
presentation of a petition to Congress,
signed largely by men as completely Ig
norant of the needs of this section as
he. It is the desire of the undersigned
to nullify any influence this man's peti
tion might have in Congress
In the Humbug mountain country
20 or SO . families can make good
homes. Five or six men. of whom
I am one, some of them with
families. have already "squatted"
there and are now making homes, some
of them have been there for three years
and were led to believe that the country
would be surveyed. -They have tolled
earnestly to build themselves -homes,
where, figuratively, they could "sit un
der their own vine and fig tree," each
happy in the knowledge that he had a
little home all his own.
Now, after three years" toiling, these
men are trembling at the thought of
losing all for which they have been
striving. The virus of Pinchotism has
infected a few Astorlans, and they are
blindly and ignorantly trying to wrest
from these settlers the fruits of their
toil.
. The best way to conserve a forest is
to use the trees', when fully matured.
The best way to build up a country is
to see that each citizen who desires It
has a piece of land. The United States
has already lost thousands of men and
millions of dollars from the Plnchot
craze. This country belongs to the peo
ple of the West and they should be al
lowed to develop it instead of being
forced to go across the' line into the
Dominion of Canadt..
A protest against setting aside the
Humbug, as a forest 'reserve. Is being
circulated here. It will be sent to Con
gress, bearing the name of every man
In the western part of Clatsop County.
These men have not signed blindly.
They know what is for the best inter
ests of this section, andthey want no
forest reserve in the Humbug Moun
tain. JAMES W. WEBB.
GREAT SYNAGOGUE FOR 1R. WISE.
Former Portland Rabbi Will Have Tem
ple In Kew York.
New York Herald, June 1.
After an existence of about three
years the Free Synagogue, of which
Dr. Stephen S. Wise 1b rabbi, is to have
the largest house of worship in the city.
Yesterday the Free Synagogue Corpora
tion purchased seven houses at No. 32
to 44 West Sixty-eighth street, near
Central Park West, from Julia M.
Curtis. The president of the corpora
tion Is Henry Morgenthau, the vice
president A. I. Elkins. and the treasurer
Charles E. Block. The stated sale price
was 1177,000, and the property is sub
ject to a mortgage of $119,000.
The tract is 135 by 100 feet, which is
larger than the site of any local syna
gogue. This assures the carrying put
of the plan made by Dr. Wise more
than a year ago to own a temple In the
heart of the city. - . -.
"When our building is erected," he
said yesterday, "we will have a great
institutional synagogue that shall be
come one of the centers of the religious,
ethical, civic and educational life of the
city. It will be open all the time."
The only home the Free Synagogue
has had is a one - time Universallst
church in West Eighty-first street, be
tween Columbus ana Amsterdam ave
nues. Last Fall the Universallst So
ciety sold this to the First Church of
the Disciples of Christ, now worship
ping in West- Fifty-sixth street, near
Eighth avenue. The new tenants will
move up town in the Fall.
Dr. Wise's congregation will not
build for some time. Begining in Oc
tober worship will be held every Sun
day morning in Carnegie Hall. On Sun
day morning Dr. Wise will explain to
his congregation further plans for the
new synagogue. At the same service
an address will be delivered by Claude
G. Monteflore, of London, president of
the Anglo-Jewish Association and presi
dent of the Jewish Religious Union.
Dr. Wise came here from a temple in
Portland, Or., and established the Free
Synagogue. From a very small begin
ning he now has a large membership.
V.
They Dared the Administration.
New York Evening Post.
It is worth noticing in the first place
that the particular railways which are re
strained from making . the announced
changes in their rates created for them
selves the situation which has resulted.
They not only acted in concert but took
pains to show everyone that they were
doing so, even to the extent, it seems, of
allowing one person to file for all of them
at Washington the notice of their contem
plated advances. This was at lerot a su
perfluous bit of foolishness, and it came
close to being a public challenge to the
Attorney-General's office. So far as can
be seen at the moment the Government's
action does not prevent any given railway
from altering its rates hereafter, whether
up or down. But it probably puts a quietus
on the forming of railway combinations
under such circumstances as virtually
create monopoly, and on the naming of
arbitrary rates for the whole community
by that combination. Half a dozen Su
preme Court decisions have declared that
course of procedure to be wholly illegal,
and the railways in the Western Trunk
Line's territory must have known that
this was so.
Education Today.
Life.
The other evening, in an idle moment,
we happened to be sitting in our old arm
chair, when our favorite child, who is
going to a public school, approached us
with her examination paper and requested
us to 'answer correctly all the questions."
This particular examination was on
English grammar.
We took up the paper with an abound
ing confidence. If there Is anything that
we pride ourselves upon it is English
grammar.
But, much to our surprise, there was
not a single question ifc the whole list that
we could answer. A procession of moods
and tenses, of Involved problems, con
fronted us.
We promptly gave it up. But we rather
think that we had that child when, in a
superior manner, she chided us on our
ignorance, we replied:
"Dearie, you have heard of Addison?
Well, could he have answered any of
those questions?"
. Joyful Dlrgre.
Princeton Tiger.
She laid the still white form beside those
which had gone before; no sob, no sigh
forced its way from her heart.--Throbbing
as though it would burst. Suddenly a cry
broke the stillness of the place one single
heartbreaking shriek: then silence; anoth
er cry: more silence; then all silent but
for a guttural murmur, which seemed to
well up from the very soul. She left the
place. She would lay another egg tomor-
LIFE'S SUNNY SIDE
A minister living in an Aberdeen
shire coast town had preached a ser--mon
which a skipper, one of his par
ishioners, who traded to ' London,
thought very like one which he had
read to his family the Sunday before
from a volume of sermons which he had
purchased in London.
On the following Sunday he, with two
brother skippers, took the book to
church to ascertain the correctness of
the suspicion. The minister in due
time - gave out a text which, true
enough, the skipper found in the index
of his book and pointed out to his
friends
The minister then proceeded with his
sermon, going on word for word with
the sermon book for a sentence or two.
which greatly excited the skipper, who,
with a crony on each side, kept trac
ing the words in his book after the
minister, and saying:
"See till him; see till him."
The minister, who used himself to
tell the story, said:
"I lookit down and saw what they
were at. so I turned ower two leaves at
ance, an' they never clappit saut upo'
my tall after that." Tit-Bits.
. e
A story is told of two old antagonists
who met on a Scotch golf course every
Saturday afternoon.
On one occasion, when they were all
"square" at the 17th, and the loser of
the previous week had just played
i mini in tne snape or a nice ap
proach to the green, last week's winner
came up to his ball with grim purpose.
He had an easy pitch to the green, but
a number of young sheep were uncon
cernedly browsing along the edge.
nun torrward. laddie.' said last
week's winner to his caddie, "and drive
awa' the lambs!"
"Na, na!" vigorously protested his-op
ponent. "Bide where ye be. laddie: Ye
canna move any growin' thing! That's
the rule o' gowff!"
e
"Speaking of plans for saving money,"
remarked a Jersey commuter. "I in
vented one last week that's increasing
my surplus revenue considerably al
ready and without an effort."
"Burying it out in the yard?" a skep
tical friend queried.
"Nothing so foolish. You see, my wife
has that unfortunate habit of going
through her husband's trousers pocket
while he's abed, and extracting what
ever coin it may contain. One night
when I was down in the kitchen closing
up the house I found a defunct mouse
in the trap."
-Well?"
"Well, I put it in my trousers pocket
just before I got into bed." New York
Globe.
e
Thomas A. Daly, of Philadelphia, the
clever delineator of Italian dialect
stories and poems, although a thorough
son of Erin from tip to tip, put this
one over on one of his fellow-countrymen
at a recent banquet of book pub
lishers at the Hotel Astor. New York.
"In a New Jersey city the Irish had
organized a branch of the Holy Name i
Society, whose object is to discourage
t..e use of profanity and the name of
the Diety in vain. On their patron
saint day they were marching through
the streets in the business section of
the city BOO or 600 strong.
" 'What's all this?" inquired an awed
spectator - of an Irish street sweeper
who had lifted his hat on the corner as
the procession was passing.
'"Them? Why, that's the Catholic
Holy Name Society a dandy, foine bunch
of Irishmen as good as ever walked the
cobblestones."
"Gee! I didn't think there was that
many Irishmen in this section of the
state. How did they get here?'
"'Ah, go along wld. ye, ye heathen!
Didn't know they were that many
here? Why, this is only the bunch
that don't swear. Ye ought to see the
other big mob that do." " Philadelphia
Record.
This Woman Has Solved the Food
Problem.
Indianapolis News.
Mrs. Catherine Estill, a widow over
60 years old. has been cooking meals
for the young men and women students
of the Ohio Northern University, at
Ada, O., for over 20 years. Without
any help she has prepared and served
meals for an average of 40 a day, which
means a total of S40 meals a week.
This work may be better understood
when it is stated that she does all the
work in the kitchen and dining room
herself. All the food Is put on the ta
ble and the students "help themselves.'"
The rate of board is almost inconceiv
ably low. averaging only $1.65 a week,
or less than 10 cents a meal. Even at
this she makes money and serves
wholesome meals.
Taxicab Testa.
New York Globe.
Fifteen taxlcabs, the meters of which
are suspect of all patrons, rolled yester
day around Central Park, a distance of
six and a quarter miles, and 11 of them
registered $2.70, the proper price. One
cheated the owning company to the
amount of 10 cents and three cheated the
other way 10 cents and one 20 cents. Six
teen cars went a longer route, 11 miles,
and 12 of them said $4.70 and four $4.60.
It appears from this test that the abuse
launched against the mechanism of the
cabs is unjustified. - The wheels and gears
are honest enough. The trouble manifest
ly is with the sensate rather than the in
sensate part of the equipment. But how
many cab travelers of New York are able
to be conveyed six and a quarter miles
for $2.70 or 11 miles for $4.70?
The Oregon Grape.
PORTLAND, June 6. (To the Edi
tor.) Which is our state flower, also
our National flower. V. R.
In a general way it may be said that
the Oregon Grape is our state flower.
Some ten years ago through The Ore
gonian and local papers in the state,
opinions were asked on the subject of
a choice for state flower. The vote in
favor of the Oregon grape was over
whelming, v
There is no National flower.
Closer Kin Now.
Providence Journal.
It is now made apparent to the English
what it feels like to be stroked by the Big
Stick and tickled by the spear that knows
no brother.
CURRENT NEWSPAPER JESTS.
Optimist In this world one happy hour
makes up for a heap of unhappy ones.
Pessimist Yes. It has to. Puck.
"TDo you not see the handwriting; on the
wall?" asked the foreboding friend. "No.'
replied Senator Sorghum; -the headlines in
the newspapers are enough for me."
Washington Star.
Ram bo fhave a pair of glasses at home,
that make me see double. Baldwin Yes:
I've seen you using them. One is a beer
mug- and the other Is a whisky tumbler.
Chicago Tribune.
Mr. Hubb The intelligence office man
ager told me that our new girl was once
an actress. Mrs. Hubb I believe it. She
dusts the furniture exactly as the soubrette
does it on the stage. Boston Transcript. I
How does your new book go?" "Great!
I am convinced that it is a classic." "A
classic? what convinces you of that?"
"Everybody has either seen it or heard of
it. but nobody has read it." Cleveland
Leader.
The Maiden Aunt No. sir! No traveling
second-class on -the continent for me. How
do I know with what strange man I might
be locked into a compartment? That's so.
But the man wouldn't know what was- com
ing to .him. either. Life.
She Did you see where some man de
clares that women are not honest? He
Well, he's right in saying so. She ( fierce
ly) When did you ever know me to do a
dishonest thing? He (tenderly) When you
robbed me of peace of mind and stole my
heart, you dear little thief! Baltimore
American.